Fireproof door



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Aug. 1929- E. E. PERKINS 1,725,931

FIREPROOF DOOR Filed Nov. 5, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 u; Q R N N Rfl & v '7 &

Patented Aug. 27, 1929.

UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE.

ELMER E. PERKINS, 0F BRADLEY, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO ELMER E. PERKINS COM- IPANY, or

BRADLEY, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

FIR-EPBOOF DOOR.

Application filed November 5, 1927. Serial No. 231,192.

This invention pertains to fire and water proof door constructions and more particularly to a door construction suitable for inclosing lumber dry kilns and the like. The invention will be disclosed in connection with a lumber dry kiln since its functions and uses may perhaps best be illustrated in connection with such apparatus.

It is necessary that large doors and doorways be provided in kilns for drying lumber and the like and it is likewise necessary that such doors be constructed to withstand the stresses and effects imposed by changes of climate and the elements as well as the stresses imposed by differences in tempera ture and other conditions on opposite sides thereof. In addition such doors must be strong and rigid mechanically and fire and water proof. These requirements cannot be over emphasized for even under ordinary circumstances a kiln door may be subjected to a temperature of say, 180 F. and a humidity of 60 to on one side while on the other side it may be subjected to a temperature of around 0 F. at a very low humidity in winter time, and to other variations of temperature and humidity in summer time. In winter any moisture escaping through the door or penetrating it will condense to water and perhaps later to ice, both seriously deleterious. Very often the lumber or other material being dried in the kiln contains su'fiicient detrimental acids which vaporize during the drying process and cause thedoor to become seriously corroded and quite often useless.

However, so far as I am aware, of the various doors that have been .construced for kiln purposes few are fireproof or are of an exceedingly expensive construction, many of them will absorb moisture in greater or lesser quantity and are subject to corrosion, cracking, warping or distortion by reason ofsuoh fact and few, if any, are satisfactory over. a long period of use.

I have devised a door construction which will over come or obviate from a practical standpoint, each and every one of the aforementioned objections to doors of prior. construction, a door construction the parts of which will'not absorb moisture or acids to any material extent, a construction that will not warp or corrode under the most extreme conditions to which it may be subjected, a construction that will not conduct heat or cold from the interior to the exterior or vice versa, a construction that is fire proof, and a construction that is economical to manufacture, replace or repair, yet strong, durable, efficient and effective forits purposes. Such may be said to be one of the primary objects of my invention.

Many further objects as well as the functions, uses and advantages of my invention will be or should become apparent and appreciated after reading the following descriptlon and claims and after vlew ng the drawings in wh1ch:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of one side ofa kiln door constructed in accordance with the preferred form of the invention. Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1, I

Fig. 4; is a fragmentary sectional detail taken on the line el-+4 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional detail taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary end View of a latch detail taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1, and,

Fig. 7 is a .view taken along the line 7-7 of Fig. 6. v

The door illustrated is of rectangular shape the perimeter of which on all four sides is bounded by T-shaped irons, generally known as T-irons, designated 2, 3, 4t, and 5. These irons are suitably connected together at the corners of the structure by gusset plates or by welding or both if desired, with the stems of the Ts directed inwardly of the door area as will be noted. At suitable intervals along the top of the door in this illustration, the top T is re cessed out as shown in? and the head bored out as shown in 8 forthe reception of bolts 9 which serve. to secure door hanger mechanisms 11 rigidly to the door frame for raising and'lowering the doors as will be understood. Since the door hanger mechanisms form no part of the present invention they will not further be referred to herein although their, construction and arrangement may be understood from the drawing.

Individual sheets 12 on one side of the door and individual sheets 13 on the other side of the door of Transits board, the sheets of each set not quite abutting at their edges and extending preferably substantially the full height of the door, are secured to the frame against the stems 14 of the T-irons at the top, bottom, and ends of the frame so as to provide a substantially continuous surface on each side of the door. The name Tra'nsite is a well known trade name for a well known stone-like composition material composed of about one half asbestos and one half cement. Since' it is very strong, tough, fire and water proof and peculiarly adaptable for'my purposes, I prefer to use it for the present form of my invention, but other similar materials having the required specifications may be substituted.

Owing to the difficulty of manufacturing the sheets of fire resistant material in long lengths and wide widths it is necessary to use several of them for large doors and where several are used their adjacent edges are preferably spaced apart short distances as above noted. As shown at 15 in Figs. 2 and 4 this spacing permits a reasonable amount of clearance for expansion and con traction under varying temperature con-ditions but wherever a joint is made I prefer to apply an asphaltum pain-t along the marginal edges of each side at the joints, or a thin strip of fire proof material over the joint and then rivet plates thereal-on g. In the present form of the invention I use flat plates 16 joined together by rivets 17 for horizontal or transverse joints while vertical joints are likewise painted or covered with a thin strip of fire resistant material or the like and connected together by angle irons 21 which are riveted together one on each side of the joint and on opposite sides of the door, rivets 22 and 23 being illustrated in this instance as the secured means. It will be appreciated however that other securing means may be used. The angle irons 21 are riveted at their ends to and through the stems of the T-i-rons as best shown in Figs. 1 and 4 and thereby, in addition to connecting the several sheets of Transite board together, reinforce and strengthen the sheets and the door.

By placing the sheets on opposite sides of the stems 14 of the T-irons a narrow space between the sheets is space I place heat insulating material to prevent transmission of heat from one side of the door to the other. An air gap between the sides of the door is the most desirable insulation but for the purpose of aiding in keeping, the sides of the door apart I use expanded meta-l reinforcing or wire mesh thoroughly coated and covered with asphaltum. This insulatiing material preferably eX- tends from end to end. and from top. to bottom. of the door andjvery thoroughly insulates one side from. theqothern In order that looking pins: 24 may be secured in the door frame at the sides the obtained and in thisstems 14 of the T-irons may be recessed out as shown in 25 to receive the heads 26 of the pins while the T-heads of the T-irons are bored out as shown in 27 to receive the shanks of the pins. When the pins are in place their heads 26 may then be welded to the T-heads. After the door has been completely built it is coated with a heavy coat of asphaltum paint.

While I have illustrated and described a door construction in which the sides of the door are each composed of a number of inclividual sheets it will be appreciated that they may each be made in one solid and continu ous sheet although even then it be preferable to provide reinforcing strips such as the angles 21 at suitable intervals across the width or height ofthe door. In the claims I may refer to the several sheets 12 and 13 collectively as sheets or a pair of sheets but do not thereby intend to limit myself to a construction in which each side is composed of a plurality of sheets for as I have stated a I single sheet for each side in some in stances be satisfactory. I have also illustrated and described a certain preferred form of construction embodying my inventionbut since, as will be obvious, many other forms of construction and type or arrangement of parts may be substituted, I desire to be limitedonly by the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A. door of the character described com prising, a metal frame bounding the edge of the door, a sheet of stone-like, asbestos composition material on each side of the door, extending substantially over the entirearea thereof and secured to said frame, means spacing said sheets apart at their edges about the perimeter of the door, a heat insulating substance between said sheets substantially over the entire area of the door, and means extending across said door on each side and from one edge of the door to another edge and secured to said frame for re-enforcing said composition sheets.-

2. A door of the character described comprising, a metal T-iron frame with the stem of the T directed inwardly of the frame area, a flat sheet of fire-resistant composition material over eachside of the door and each abutting at its inner marginal face against one side of the stem of the T-iron, whereby the sheets of material will be spaced apart to provide an insulationspace therebetween, an asphaltum coated metal screen in said space over the area between said sheets, and means securing said sheets to said frame.

3. A door of the character described comprising, a metal T-iron frame with the stem of the T directed inwardly of the frame area, a plurality of sheets offire-resistant composition material over each. side of the be spaced apart to door with the edges of adjacent sheets on the same side in abutting spaced relation and each sheet abutting at its inner marginal face against one side of the stem of the T-irons, whereby the sheets of material will provide an insulation re-inforcing heat insulating material in the space between said sheets over substantially the entire area of the door, and means including pairs of angle irons in back to back relation extending along and over each joint between each pair of adjacent sheets securing said sheets and frame together.

4. A door of the character described comprising, a metal T-iron frame with the stem space therebetween,

tending across said door on each of the T directed inwardly of the frame area, a sheet of stone-like, fire-resistant asbestos composition material over each side .of the door and each abutting at its inner marginal face against one side of the stem of the T-iron, whereby the sheets of material will be spaced apart to provide an insulation space therebetween, and means exside thereof and from one edge of the door to the other edge and secured to said frame and sheets for reinforcing said sheets.

In witness of the foregoing I aflix my signature.

ELMER E. PERKINS. 

